Morning magic
In the cool of the morning, perfumes have a freshness that can be lacking later in the day, when heat releases the fragrance and helps
it waft around the garden. So you need to sniff more to appreciate the scent of the morning garden. Roses often smell more
sweetly before noon, the light and citrus notes being more dominant than the heavier tones of later in the day.
I’ve many favourites among roses and all smell lovely when still covered in a light mist of dew. Above all, I’d hate to be without ‘Twice in a Blue Moon’, which has not only the perfect Hybrid Tea shape and a beautiful lilac colour, but also a perfume that makes you swoon. Although largely grown for evening fragrance, the white and lilac flowers of hesperis (dame’s violet) are still scented at dawn, and their colours match this rose perfectly. Hesperis will seed around the border and has the charming bonus that it’s a host plant for the caterpillars of orange tip butterflies.
Staying with the same colour range, the flowers of lilac are a stand-out scent of late spring and always remind me of the Chelsea Flower Show. Some people criticise these large shrubs for their fleeting display
but although they’re rather dull for the rest of the year, they can have their lower branches removed, to create attractive small trees for a small garden, and, I believe, nothing compares with their scent. The same applies to wisteria, a climber that needs consideration before planting because it’s big and needs room, or careful and thoughtful pruning, to flower well. Although all smell good, it’s W. sinensis that often pleases the most with its creamy, sweet scent, most intense when planted against a sunny wall.
Old-fashioned and with a tricky character that means it fails in some gardens, yet romps away like a weed in others, lily of the valley (convallaria) provides one of the most unique and memorable scents of spring. Half-hidden among the leaves, the gently arched stems and dainty white bells are impossible to come away from in the garden and a few, when picked, will perfume a room, elegant and homely in a simple glass vase. Try it in part shade and see where it runs to – it’ll find where it wants to grow and then delight you each May.